After ACCA honored its award winners, Connor Lokar of ITR Consulting gave attendees a glimpse at the future of HVAC.

Lokar says that through first half of 2018 the country will see continued economic growth, but the second half of the year we will start seeing an economic dip.

Two key points he made are that economic growth or contraction has nothing to do with the political affiliation of the sitting President nor does tax reform.

Lokar shared a lot of data that shows how the leading indicators explain where the economy will go.

He says all this information is available, you must seek it out and use it. If you can have a three month lead time, it can make better decisions for your company.

He encourages contractors to weather the upcoming downturn, because unlike the Great Recession, the upcoming downturn (2019) will not create an overwhelming number of people looking for work. He also says push through the price increases for similar reasons.

He says there are five negative factors that will create the upcoming mild recession:

Rising interest rates

The U.S. stock market

Inflation and declining savings

International trade & NAFTA

U.S. debt

The key actionable take-aways that Connor says will help you move forward:

Plan for continued overall expansion during 2018

Expect growth in the Single Family housing and commercial markets this year, stay wary of the Multi Family side

This morning at the opening MainStage Jay Baer kicked off the show with a funny and exciting presentation on controlling customer experiences.

He points out:

Customer experiences are fluid

Good enough is no enough

Same is lame

What does all that mean? People discuss different, new, exciting; and ignore average.

You need to have a story, because there is power in the story. It creates Talk Triggers. Talk Triggers makes word-of-mouth marketing automatic. To be clear Talk Triggers are not marketing, they create a marketing advantage.

Four things that make a Talk Trigger:

Remarkable

Repeatable

Realistic

Relevant

There are five types of Talk Trigger:

Talkable Responsiveness

Talkable Empathy

Talkable Attitudes

Talkable Generosity

Talkable Usefulness

Jay says you can use these Talk Triggers to expand your business. If you text “TRIGGERS” TO 66866 to get the full six steps to mastering Talk Triggers.

The IE3 Show App is a powerful tool that will help you get the most out of the event. To download it simply search ACCA & IE3 on the iTunes App Store or on Google Play.

Downloading Handouts

If speakers sent ACCA handouts for their session, they have been loaded into the app. You can access and download these handouts by opening the IE3 Show App and opening the session that you saved in your schedule or by selecting the session from the events section of the app. Session that have downloadable content will have a PDF icon next to them (circled below in red).

Once you are in the session scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap handout tab. The menu will expand then you will tap the handout you want to download (circled below in red).

A box will pop up and give you four options: Download Handout; Email Handout; Take Notes on Handout/Edit Notes on Handout; and Cancel.

Select Download Handout and the PDF will download to your mobile device.

Taking Notes

To take notes in the app on the handouts, Follow the first two steps above. When the box pops up after you tap the handout, select Take Notes on Handout.

The hand outs will open up. Take the note button on the top right of the app (circles in blue below).

A note page will open and you can type in your notes and click Done to save them.

If you want to email the handouts to you or another team member. when you are on the notes page, tap the envelope in the top right corner (circled in blue below).

A box will pop up for you to select the program you want to email the notes from. Select the program, add the email address of the person you are emailing them to, and tap send.

Emailing Handouts

To email the handouts to yourself or another member on your team, follow the steps for taking notes, except when the box pops up, select Email Handout. A box will pop up for you to select the program you want to use to email the handouts.

Select the program, add the email address of the person you are emailing them to, and tap send.

The IE3 Show app is the best way to keep up with what is happening at the IE3 Show, as well as to manage your schedule. Keep your eyes on this blog for more tips on how to get the most out of the IE3 Show App.

a) Pretty entertaining (wait ‘til you see what happens at 24 seconds in!) and

b) A very “odd” thing for a marketing company to advise. Whoa.

The video tells you exactly what you can expect in that seminar.

As valuable as that is, consider this –

The above is just a FRACTION of the incredible bundle of benefits you’ll get at the upcoming IE3 Conference. How do I know this?

Because for a solid year, we’ve been planning and strategizing, “filling in the blanks” of what members have asked for and “upping the ante” for any other conference out there. Really. This is YOUR conference, for your gain, for your benefit.

This annual IE3 Conference is where the brightest minds and most successful contractors gather for one reason –

To make your business better, your relationships deeper and your life just that much better.

A bold promise? You bet. This is what “upping the ante” is about! Click to get registered.

Tell your friends and colleagues to come and see what they might be missing. See you there!

The IE3 Show App is a powerful tool that will help you get the most out of the event. To download it simply search ACCA & IE3 on the iTunes App Store or on Google Play.

My Schedule

The My Schedule feature on the app allows you to have each day of the event planned out in one place. To access the My Schedule Feature, tap the Desk Calendar icon in the app (circled in red below).

When you tap the icon, it will show you everything you have added to your schedule for that day.

You will also see the next event on your schedule on the main screen of the app.

Adding Items to My Schedule

So, how do you add items to your schedule? Tap on the Events icon in the app (circled in red below).

Once in the events section, you can either Browse by Day or Browse by Focus Area.

To add an event to your schedule, tap the gray star on the left, next to the event. The star will turn yellow and be added to your schedule.

What’s On Now

One of the greatest features of the IE3 Show app is the “What’s On Now” section.

When you tap on the alarm clock icon (circled in red below), it will tell you what events are currently taking place.

Make sure you tap on this button frequently to make sure that you are where you need to be!

The IE3 Show app is the best way to keep up with what is happening at the IE3 Show, as well as to manage your schedule. Keep your eyes on this blog for more tips on how to get the most out of the IE3 Show App.

The ACCA & IE3 Show App is now available for the IE3 Show & Expo taking place February 12 – 14, 2018, at the Gaylord National Harbor in D.C.

The app is where you can access all the information about the IE3 Show & Expo on your Apple or Android Mobile devices. You will find:

Full Schedule of Events

What’s Happening Now

Maps

Exhibitors

Learning Lab Descriptions and Handouts

Speaker Information multiple devices, a phone and tablet, and take notes and share them with others.

If you have previously downloaded the app, all you need to do is update the app, and then download the ACCA Annual IE3 Show 2018 from the Upcoming Events section. Then you can open the event and get started.

If you have never used the app before, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play and search for ACCA & IE3. Download the app on your mobile device(s). Once it is downloaded, open the app and download the ACCA Annual IE3 Show 2018 from the Upcoming Events section. Then you can open the event and get started. The app has a tutorial to show you how to use it. But, it you have any questions, ask any ACCA staff member onsite at the event or by calling 703-575-4477 before the event.

Keep an eye on this blog, because over the next two weeks, there will be more blogs highlighting the features of the app and how to use them.

If you are not registered for the IE3 Show and Expo, it’s not too late! Register online or call 888-290-2220. And there are still some rooms at the Gaylord National Harbor for the ACCA rate, so if you need a room, book it today online or call 301-965-4000 and mention IE3show. Since it is past our official room block cut off date, when the rooms at our rate are gone, they are gone, so we cannot guarantee our rate.

The HVACR industry is often thought of as a man’s industry. The reality is that many women are working and thriving in it. So, how do you take the natural abilities that women have and use them to improve your business?

The answer is probably easier than you think! During a special learning lab at the IE3 Show, taking place February 12 – 14 at the Gaylord National Harbor in Washington, D.C., Laura DiFilippo of DiFilippo’s Service, Linda Couch of Parrish Services, and Renee Lucas of LCS Heating & Cooling, LLC are going to will open your eyes to all of the possibilities that women bring and teach you ways to harness their natural abilities to help your business grow, change, and evolve. This session is for everyone (men and women) to discover the solutions and skills to help our companies and help women optimize their potential in the HVACR industry.

As three women who are leaders in their businesses, they want to empower other women to do the same thing and to help other business owners nurture these great, sometimes overlooked, future leaders.

You will only get this if you are registered for the IE3 Show. Register today to make sure you get the lowest available rate and don’t forget that many of our manufacturer partners will allow you to use your co-op dollars to pay for a portion of your registration. Just contact your local distributor representative to see if you are eligible.

If you came to ACCA/IE3 in 2017, then you know that Emerson knows how to throw one heck of a party. In 2018, they’re back with us and get ready to get your groove on!

On Tuesday, February 13, Emerson is hosting their industry party at Pose Rooftop Lounge at the Gaylord National Harbor. From 7 – 9pm, enjoy great food and drinks, while listening to some hot tunes. Spend time chatting with new and old friends alike, while dancing with the nation’s capital as your backdrop.

To get the Emerson Rock the Roof Party at Pose, take the elevators at Gaylord National Harbor up to the 18th floor. But make sure you have your ticket with you!

Tickets are not included in your registration. You must visit Emerson at booth #541 during the Expo to pick up your access ticket.

Not registered for the IE3 Show and Expo? There is still time! Click here to register online or call 888-290-2220 and we’ll help you out.

ACCA’s Management Information Exchange (MIX) Group program is one of the premier benefits of ACCA membership.

The MIX Group program is for contractors who are interested in business-to-business exchanges with non-competing peers. MIX Groups are organized by ACCA members and most groups usually meet twice each year, travelling to each other’s companies to review sales, operations, policies, advertising, staff, strategies, and more. Most groups consist of eight to ten contractors from non-competing areas, and MIX Group members must be in good standing with ACCA.

Some existing MIX Groups are residential HVACR only, others may consist of only commercial contractors, and some may allow a mixture of residential and commercial. Most often, MIX Groups consist of contractors whose companies are about the same size, based on annual sales volume. However, you can start your own MIX Group and recruit ACCA members of any size and profile.

Getting into a MIX Group can take a considerable amount of time because contractors either have to start their own group or be invited to an existing group. ACCA can help with introductions between contractors, but ACCA does not “place” someone into a group.

One of the ways ACCA does help, however, is hosting a MIX Group event – The MIXer – at the ACCA Annual Conference. In 2018, the MIXer is being hosted by Dean Brainard, a well-known facilitator of MIX Group meetings. Dean will be leading a “speed networking” event where contractors interested in the program can meet MIX Group leaders and be interviewed by those looking to add another contractor to their MIX Group membership.

Dean’s leadership at this event is exciting because he has a unique ability to engage contractors and provoke meaningful conversations.

If you’re looking to join an ACCA MIX Group, or to learn more about the program, join us at ACCA’s MIXer on February 13 at 5:15pm. It’s the place to be to get engaged in the preeminent contractor networking program!

Training, every company commits to it and understands the need for it. But what do you do when you have tried and the training seems flat, or worse doesn’t seem to get results? It’s not just the technical training either, it’s everything. Inefficient training is costing you big money and it’s time to fix that.

During the IE3 Show, Edward McFarlane of Haller Enterprises is going to help you shake up your company’s training program with a fun and informative Learning Lab where together you will be digging into the best practices for holding training that gets results and your team actually wants to attend. He will share the best ideas around how to hold engaging meetings and structure training classes. You will leave with tips and tools you can start using straight away in your company.

You will only get this if you are registered for the IE3 Show. Register today to make sure you get the lowest available rate and don’t forget that many of our manufacturer partners will allow you to use your co-op dollars to pay for a portion of your registration. Just contact your local distributor representative to see if you are eligible.

And don’t forget to book your hotel room(s) at the Gaylord National Harbor, because you are going to want to stay where are all the action is taking place. ACCA has a special rate starting at $219 per night plus applicable taxes, but it’s only good until January 15, 2018, or when the block is full, whichever comes first. Book early, because our block normally fills up fast.